The Clinic That Knew More Than I Did

Let's go back to fall of 2006. I had just experienced a complete emotional breakdown from pushing myself for the past year well beyond any human breaking point. I tried to live and work like a normal person while infected with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and my mind and body had finally given out, letting Fibromyalgia take over. I was sitting at home, disabled, unable to use my right hand or arm, in writhing, aching, constant pain, sleepless, anxiety shooting to the stars, not able to remember anything that I was doing from one minute to the next, wishing I could just die, incapable of leaving my house for more that 20 minutes at a time due to exhaustive fatigue, frantic with stress about my future...hell, I am surprised I could even remember how to breathe, that's what a mess I was! You all know what I am talking about, most of you have been there (or are there, bless your hearts!). Thankfully California was one of a few states that offered State Disability Insurance. I secured a month off work paid at a somewhat comparable rate to what I was currently earning because of the executive position I had the year before but had since given up. They base it off some strange formula and I lucked out. But as that month counted down and I regained some mental balance I was continuing to decline physically. It had been ruled, by diagnosis of exclusion, CFS & Fibromyalgia, but there was little to do about it. I would sit at the computer, desperately searching for some answers, a solution, a network, some support. I read the book From Fatigued To Fantastic at the recommendation of my chiropractor and it all made so much sense, seemed to fit my symptoms to a T. Clearly an exceptional doctor was needed to even begin to treat these conditions. But I did not know where to find a doctor like this!  The internet was useless, support groups were hard to find and a hassle to get to and there was so much conflicting garbage out there I could not tell what was real and what was a carefully disguised scam.

All I knew is that I had to figure out what was wrong with me and how to get better. There was something serious happening to my body and despite the pathetic brush-off of the medical community I was not willing to accept this was "all in my head" or symptoms of depression. For crying out loud folks, I could not grip a pen and write! That is not depression, that is something physically wrong! My research kept bringing me back to The Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Center. They are a chain of specialty clinics around the country that the author of From Fatigued To Fantastic, Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, either endorsed or worked with at the time, I cannot remember which. He was a patient of both illnesses himself and had found all sorts of ways to test and treat the root causes, not just mask the symptoms with pharmaceuticals. Then my initial month on disability came to an end and I had to get it extended, for I was still as sick as a dog and there was no way on God's green earth I was able to go back to work. I was seeing a Psychiatrist and Therapist weekly I was such a mess, and that was just the emotional part! But my doctor did not understand why I still needed to be out of work because I was depressed. And this lit the fire under my ass to figure out how to get better or run the risk of watching the life my husband and I had been working so hard for flush down the toilet.

I picked the Las Vegas location because I had family to stay with there, set up an appointment, arranged for my mom to assist me and off I went. It was amazing! It was truly the first time I met a doctor that knew more about my ailments than I did! They did a thorough physical and extensive oral exam. They took 31 vials of blood! It was intense and exhaustive and extremely expensive. The MD part of it was just a small factor, it was the supplements! But my body was under such attack and was so depleted they were badly needed to build me back up. My adrenals were shot, thyroid depressed, testosterone non-existent and I had Human Growth Hormone levels of an 83 year old at age 29! I returned for a few follow-up appointments and did a few phone appointments as well. I improved, but there was no magic wand being waved and I was still disabled even though I could leave the house for longer amounts of time now. Eventually they started testing for viruses and bacterial infections and BINGO! That's what Leah had! I went on some heavy-duty drugs to flip the balance from virus on top of immune system to immune system squashing virus and recovered from CFS to the point that if I take care of myself I am in "remission". But one of the nasty little buggers had infected my central nervous system and lived there for so long it had inflicted permanent nerve damage and the Fibromyalgia was here to stay. I am so grateful for The Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Center, the family I had to stay with there, my mom for all her assistance and the credit card I was able to put it all on. Since I have become a "professional patient" (4 pancreatitis, CFS, Fibro & 2 strokes by the age of 33 qualify me for that title) I have learned a lot about health and wellness. I buy the supplements I need now at a fraction of the cost and know more than I ever thought possible about how to maintain a healthy balance in life. A lot of questions keep popping up about The Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Center, and for me it was more than worth it. I just would not have bought all my supplements from them had I known any better. But the doctor was amazing, I did recover significantly and was able to return to work and live a life of much better quality than I thought possible given my original prognosis.

Thanks for joining,
Leah